Animated figure game



Jan. 28, 1958 R. E. ARMSTRONG ANIMATED FIGURE GAME Filed July so, 1956 INVENTOR RAYMOND flaws TRONG ANIMATED FIGURE GAME Raymond E. Armstrong, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application July 30, 1956, Serial No. 600,754

6 Claims. (Cl. 273-127) My invention relates to improvements in figure toys and particularly to a toy of this kind made up to represent a strength testing machine commonly found at carnivals and other out-door and indoor places of amusement. Such a machine comprises a standard or post which is conventionally graduated and has a gong at its upper end which is capable of being struck by a weight slidable length-wise of the post and adapted to be driven towards the gong when an elevating lever is struck by a mallet in the hands of the player.

Miniature games of the indoor variety have been proposed along this line in which the player is represented by a figure having a movable part holding a mallet and operated by a motor of the spring type.

A salient object of my invention is to provide a game of the class referred to in which there is provided an impact receiving member which upon being struck will recede and cause a figure carrying a mallet to swing downwardly and strike the elevating mechanism for propelling the weight piece towards the gong. A still further object of the invention is to provide such a game in which the effect of an impact is proportional to the force of the blow and the angle at which the impact receiving member is struck. This controls the propelling force imparted to the weight piece and consequently the height to which the weight piece is raised in an operational action of the game.

A distinctive feature of the arrangement is that the impact receiving member is supplied with a head preferably of a rounded type. This head is rounded for receiving impacts to cause the impact receiving member to recede against the tension of a spring. In the preferred form of the invention the game is intended to be used by placing a base on a table or other flat supporting surface with the impact receiving member projecting forwardly and having the head disposed somewhat clear of the supporting surface so that it may be made a target for discs or similar game pieces tossed along the surface with the object of striking the head.

A very interesting game is arrived at in this way because several players may take turns in manually projecting a disc or discs along the supporting surface with the object of causing the gong to be struck. It will be understood that the supporting surface serves as the playing surface and that the eflect of an impact of a disc against the head of the impact receiving member will depend not only upon the magnitude of the impact but also upon the angle at which the disc strikes the head. A direct blow will of course be more effective, than an oblique blow.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts as described in the ensuing specification and shown in the accompanying drawing, which forms a part thereof.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevational view of the preferred form of the invention;

States Patent ice Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the figure toy; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the actuating device that connects the impact receiving member to the movable element of the figure.

The strength testing machine in which my improvements are embodied comprises a base 1 shown as of a hollow construction having a platform 2 which supports a post 3. At the top of the post there is a gong 4. A weight device 5 is carried by the post and adapted to slide upwardly along the same to the gong 4. The weight device may be slidably secured in well-known manner, such as by dovetailed groove 6 in the post and engaged by tongue piece 7 on the weight device 5.

Desirably the post is detachably connected to the base in approved manner such as by a dovetailed connection. The detachable connection enables the post to be dismantled for storage of the game.

At the lower end of the post there is provided an elevating device 8 in the form of a lever pivoted at 9 intermediate of its length in a support 10 and having an end 11 upon which the weight piece rests. The lever normally assumes a tilted attitude as shown in solid lines in Figure l, and when the end 13 is struck an elevational movement is imparted to the weight piece as will be well known in the art.

The figure represents a man and comprises a fixed part and a movable part, both of which are preferably of a hollow construction. The fixed part is the legs 14 and the movable part is a body indicated at 15 and including a torso with arms and a head. The arms are shown as brought together to hold a mallet 16 for striking the end 13 of the elevating device 8 when the body is swung downwardly on the pivot pin 7, as indicated in dash lines in Figure l. A front portion of the body is shown as cut away as at 18 to provide clearance for the legs in the downward movement.

In carrying out my improvements I preferably provide a base which may be placed upon a supporting surface such as the table top 19 and held against the movement such as by means of the rubber strips 20 marginally arranged. The frictional contact elements 20 will provide sutficient resistance so that the base will not be likely to shift from the position in which it is set unless subjected to a displacing force of considerable magnitude. In as sociation with the base there is provided an impact receiving member indicated at 21 comprising a horizontally arranged slide-element 22 fitted in a bearing 23 to slide endwise and having at its projecting end a head 24. The head may be cushioned by a coating of rubber or other cushioning material and with its bottom face spaced clear of the supporting surface 19. The inner end of the slide 21 is connected to an arm 25 by a slot and pin connection 26, or equivalent means. This arm forms a part of a rotary actuating member 27 which is pivoted at 28. The rotary element is in the form of a quadrant having a grooved periphery indicated at 29. The groove is receptive to a flexible element in the form of a chain 30. The chain is connected at its lower end to the quadrant as denoted at 31 and extends upwardly through a hole in the platform and through the hollow legs 14 to a point at which it is connected to the body 15 forwardly of the pivotal axis 17 as clearly shown in Figure 1.

According to this arrangement a retractile movement imparted to the impact receiving member 21 will turn the quadrant 27 in a direction to exert a pull on the chain 30, thus causing the body 15 to be swung downwardly so as to cause the mallet to strike the elevating device, 8. In this way the weight device is elevated. A tension spring 32 is employed to normally retain the impact receiving member in a projected position. Suitable stops e are provided to limit the movement on the impact receiving member one of which is indicated at 33 in Figure 1.

The leg part of the figure 15 is shown as cut away at 34 to allow the upper end of the chain to make a connection with the body without interference. The body part 15 is provided with means to yieldably retain it in an erect attitude and to return it to an upright attitude following an operational movement. The means to this end is shown as a weight mass, denoted at 35. This provides for a smooth return movement.

The game is intended to be played by the use of a disc 36, Figure 3. The disc is tossed by a player to slide along the supporting surface 19 with the object of striking the head 26 of the impact receiving member and thereby bringing about an operational movement of the man. The disc may be a weighted element which utilises the supporting surface 19 as a playing surface. The player of course will stand some distance back of the head of the impact receiving member in tossing the disc which head is shown as rounded so that when struck obliquely the effective force of the impact will be less that when the head is struck at dead centre. Consequently the force of the blow delivered on the elevating lever will depend not only on the force with which the disc strikes the impact receiving member, but also upon the angle of contact that is made with the head 26. The disc 36 is also shown as striking the head 26 at an oblique angle as indicated by the position of the disc in dash lines in Figure 3. Any number of players may play the game and they may have so many shots apiece according to any rule laid down for the game.

Instead of making the base as an element to be placed upon a supporting surface it may be constructed as a unit with a playing surface which of course would eliminate the rubber friction elements 20. These and other modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A figure toy comprising a base, a figure mounted upon said base and including a movable body part pivotally supported to swing downwardly and manually holding a striking implement in an attitude to strike a weightelevating lever when said body is swung downwardly in an operational movement, and motivating means for causing said movable body to swing downwardly in an operational movement, said motivating means comprising an impact receiving element slidably mounted in said base to retract endwise therein when subjected to an impact, a resilient device for restraining said impact receiving element to a projected position, a rotary device journalled in said base and connected to said impact receiving element so as to be turned when the impact receiving element is caused to retract, and a connecting device operatively connecting said rotary device to said movable body to cause the latter to swing downwardly when said rotary device is turned.

2. A figure toy as set forth in claim 1, in which the impact receiving device is resiliently held to a projected position, and is provided with an impact receiving head shaped to receive a blow directly or obtusely so that the retractile effect is dependent on the angle of impingement as well as the magnitude of the blow.

3. A figure toy as set forth in claim 1, in which the impact receiving device is so constructed that the amount of recessional movement that takes place under a given blow is dependent upon the angle of incidence.

4. A figure toy comprising a base, a figure mounted upon said base and including a movable body part pivotally supported to swing downwardly and manually holding a striking implement in an attitude to strike a weightelevating lever when said body is swung downwardly in an operational movement, a motivating means for causing said toy to swing downwardly in an operational movement, said motivating means comprising an elongated slide member slidably mounted in said base and having an impact receiving head, said slide member being arranged to recede under the impact of a blow delivered on said head, a spring restraining said slide to a projected position, a grooved quadrant pivoted in said base and having an arm associated with said slide by a connection which causes the arm to turn as the slide recedes, and a flexible element having an end connected to said quadrant for operating in the groove thereof and having an end connected to the movable body part at a point forwardly of the pivotal axis thereof and spaced from this axis.

5. A figure toy as defined in claim 4, in which the quadrant arm is attached to the slide by a slot and pin connection.

6. A figure toy comprising a base, a figure mounted upon said base and including a movable body part pivotally supported to swing downwardly and manually holding a striking implement in an attitude to strike a weightelevating lever when said body is swung downwardly in an operational movement, and motivating means for causing said movable body to swing downwardly in an operational movement, said motivating means comprising an impact receiving element slidably mounted in said base to retract endwise therein when subjected to an impact, a resilient device for restraining said impact receiving element to a projected position, an actuating device pivoted on said base and connected to said impact receiving element so as to be turned when the impact receiving element is caused to retract, and a connecting device operatively connecting said actuating device to said movable body to cause the latter to swing downwardly when said actuating device is turned.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 741,625 Carson Oct. 20, 1903 968,325 Carter Aug. 23, 1910 1,302,379 Kozlowski Apr. 29, 1919 1,342,344 Moore June 1, 1920 1,532,482 Ford Apr. 7, 1925 1,558,919 Polichek Oct. 27, 1925 1,674,588 Berger June 19, 1928 

